Christ Teachings

Peace. Most of us would think that if things are rosy between us and God and, if we can just find a place in the world to live where we

” For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps” (1Pet.2:21)

Does it take a leap of faith or just a step to believe in God?

We look at the above verse over and over again, and when asked what this means, many, if not most Christians, from Pastors on down to the laymen will say that this verse is telling us to walk, talk, and speak as Christ would. Then in the same breath state that in order to believe you must have a leap in faith.

 Now many will probably disagree with me , but it’s not the leap that gets you closer to God, it’s the steps that one takes that gets you there.

Folks, we are taught that the Bible, Gods Word, is a book of teaching and instructions. Now as with any teaching and or instructions, we must do what?

We must take steps to first understand the teaching so that we can move on to step two, which is to follow those instructions

The steps are simple really, for in order to progress up these steps you must first and foremost BELIEVE GOD, then BELIEVING GOD. After this step three comes into play, which is to acknowledge Jesus Christ as you Lord and Saviour.

Step four is just as simple, believing that Jesus Christ is God’s son and that he shed his blood for our sins, this then leads us into step five, and that is being saved, step six is being baptized and born again in His Precious Name Step seven brings us as new members of Christianity, into the learning stage. This is the stage where we learn what God has to teach, not in our way, BUT HIS WAY.

And while learning, step eight usually sneaks in, which is understanding what you have learned, in order to teach others what you have been taught.  This is best said in Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly, dividing the word of truth.”

 Folks, read Gods Word and you will see that even God, YES GOD, Himself did not leap, but took steps, as can be shown all throughout the Bible.

Let’s take for example the steps that He took when He created this world that we live on.

Genesis outlines this.

1) He created heaven and earth

2) created light

3) divided light from darkness

4) firmament dividing the water

5) created dry land

6) created grass, herb yielding seeds, and fruit trees

7) created lights in the firmament, one to rule the day (sun) and one to rule the night (moon) and the stars.

 8) created all that filled the sea and the fowls of the air. 

 9) God made the beast of the land

10) He created man 

11) God created a garden

12) God placed man in the garden

13) God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep

14) God took one of Adams ribs

15) God closed the wound in Adam back up

16) God created woman from Adams rib.

As you can see, even God Himself had planned it all out and took it step by step. He Is God and could have created every thing at once, yet He did it, step by step.

  Even Jesus, (God incarnate) went through the steps. Don’t believe it? Well here are just a few steps that He took for us to save our scrawny hides.

1) God incarnates into the flesh, 2) Jesus is conceived and born, 3) John baptizes Jesus before Jesus started His ministry, 4) Jesus preaches and teaches, does miracles‘, 5) Jesus prepares for His death, 6) Jesus dies on the cross for our sins, 7) Jesus rises from the dead, Jesus ascends into heaven, 9) The Holy Spirit is sent unto the apostles on the day of Pentecost.

Now the apostles filled with this Holy Spirit finally with true understanding, following in the same footsteps as Christ, they began to preach and teach the first step which is to BELIEVE GOD.

  Truthfully friends, once we are moved by the Holy Spirit to believe God (step 1) all else starts in motion for what God has planned for you.

  Many schools of thought teaches that it takes a leap in faith to achieve the goals that God has planned for us.

My question to that is , If we took that leap and missed, then what, it’s a long way down. Then what, Hell?

God loves us to much for that, if He didn’t, He wouldn’t have given us so many chances to come back unto Him through His Son

So then in a nutshell folks, I really do not care, of what denomination you may stem from, nor do I care of what religious teachings you may follow, or by what name you call God.

The point is that you recognized a higher being, that we call GOD, and as with all religions the first rule of order is to Believe God.

In the Christian world, it should be

1) Believe God

2) Believe in God

3) Become saved

4) Be baptized

5) Start learning

6) Understand what you have learned

7) Teach others what you have learned.

What about you?

Ready for what God may have planned for you?

All it takes is one small forward motion, but then, that is your decision to step forward, towards your first step up

One of the most powerful ways to attract money and abundance into your life is through the use of faith – or the power of believing. When you think about it, the law of attraction will not deliver something into your life if you don’t believe it can happen. Money and abundance are no different.

The challenge is that most people don’t yet have a strong level of belief. They doubt their own power as a deliberate creators; they doubt the loving nature of the universe; and they doubt that the law of attraction even works. Is it any wonder that they struggle to manifest the things they desire, including more money?

If you are one of these “doubting Thomas” types, don’t worry. I’m going to show you a simple 3-step process that can help you to gradually build up your belief and apply it to the manifestation of more money and abundance in your life.

Step 1 – Be Certain of What You Do Not See

In the Bible, “faith” is defined: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1, NIV) When it comes to the law of attraction, this would mean first being clear about exactly what you hope for (or want). In this case, you want a certain sum of money or another expression of abundance, so get clear on exactly what outcome you are hoping for. Then, in order to be “certain of what you do not see,” you need to express your belief that the universe can and will deliver this outcome to you. Even if you don’t have a clue how it could possibly happen, or even if you expect it can happen only one or two ways, be open to allowing the universe to work its magic on your behalf.

Step 2 – Practice Equals Strength

The more you keep insisting that you believe money and abundance will come to you, and the more you keep insisting that the universe is already working on delivering your abundance right now, the stronger your faith will grow. Of course you won’t really believe it at the beginning, but that’s the whole point – you need to keep working on believing it, insisting that you do believe it, until your faith has grown to the point where you really do believe it. Say frequently, “I know the universe is delivering my money (or abundance) right now. I don’t know how or when it will show up, but I do know that it will soon.” Insist that it’s your truth, and before long it will be!

Step 3 – Act as if You Have it Already

While you are working on strengthening your faith, it’s crucial to not “un-do” all of your progress by then doubting, complaining or fearing the worst. You can’t have faith that more money is coming if you keep worrying about not having enough money! Put it this way; if you KNEW without a shred of doubt that you would be receiving a big sum of money tomorrow, you wouldn’t be fretting or worrying, right? You’d be excited, eager, happy and grateful about it. Even though it hadn’t arrived yet, you’d be anticipating its arrival with enthusiasm. Do that now and you will instantly become receptive to it and help draw it into physical form.

The first several times you do this exercise, it may feel like it’s not working. You may feel uncomfortable or strange as you insist that you believe something that you definitely don’t believe yet. That’s okay! Keep working at it and eventually you WILL come to believe it, and once the results start showing up in your outer world you’ll definitely start to believe it.

By: Felice Bonner

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Thirty eight years is a long time to have been lying chronically sick.

This is the situation which Jesus Christ meets when he walks into the pool of Bethesda on the north side of the Old City of Jerusalem. I have had the privilege of visiting this pool with groups of pilgrims on various occasions when I have been leading Holy Land tours.

Jesus asks this paralysed man, “Do you want to get well?”

He says to Jesus, “I can’t help being this way. No-one will lift me into the water and just when I am trying to get in somebody steps in before me. For some 38 years, this man would have begged, and people had provided him with some sort of existence. He had resigned himself to his condition.

I have no-one to help me. What a sad situation to be in. Had he lost his friends?

When the time came for a lift, there was no-one to lift him up and into the healing waters. I have no-one to help and Jesus comes and says, “I am your man”.

Read the words of Jesus Christ in John Chapter 5 in the New Testament. “Get up. Pick up. Walk.”

There is no helping hand here. Jesus demands obedience and co-operation. Does it appear a little harsh? No. With some people you have to be firm, or they will remain in that condition for ever.

Jesus is never harsh. What Jesus is saying here is, “If you will, I will enable you.”

If Jesus tells you to do something, you can do it. Stand, and I will help you to stand, and it works.

The man was made whole. He got up and picked up his mat and walked.

Obeying Jesus works. Co-operating with Christ works.

This is where I wish we could stop, but we cannot.

It was the Sabbath and you were not allowed to carry your bed. You were not allowed to carry your mat on the Sabbath.

This man who had been miraculously healed by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and who was obeying Jesus Christ and co-operating with Jesus Christ, got into trouble with some religious legalistic Jews. You cannot do that. It does not matter who told you. You cannot do what you are doing!

Jesus Christ was more interested in and more concerned about this paralysed man than the scrupulous observance of the laws of these religious leaders. Jesus always is.

Jesus is interested in and concerned about you situation and circumstances today, even though you may find that hard to believe and understand.

Sandy Shaw

Sandy Shaw is Pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship, Chaplain at Inverness Prison, and Nairn Academy, and serves on The Children’s Panel in Scotland. He has travelled extensively over these past years teaching, in America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, 12 visits to Israel, and most recently in Uganda and Kenya. He broadcasts regularly on WSHO radio out of New Orleans, writes a weekly commentary at http://www.studylight.org entitled “Word from Scotland”, as well as a weekly newspaper column. His M.A. and B.D. degrees are from The University of Edinburgh, and he continues to run and exercise regularly.

Sandy Shaw.

Christians often refer themselves as believers. It

It means to recognise the reality of our invisible God Father, Son and Holy Ghost and the Lordship of Jesus Christ. When we look to Jesus in our daily circumstances, our failures and our victories, we acknowledge that we depend on Him, that we need Him and that we want Him to be the number one in our life.

In this article I want to touch on three important points:

A) How do we turn our eyes upon Jesus?

B) What happens to us when we do it?

C) What are we seeing?

A) How do we turn our eyes upon Jesus in real life?

How do we get from this spiritual term and the goose bumps it brings to every charismatic Christian, to a real application in our daily life?

We turn our eyes to Jesus as we pray!

Praying alone or in fellowship with other Christians will turn our focus on Jesus.

As you acknowledge his Lordship in your live your eyes are turned to Him.

As you discus matters of your live with him your focus is on Him and as you are listening to what he has to say to you concerning certain areas in your life – what you should do and what not.

We focus on Jesus by having fellowship with other believer’s. 

When we meet in small groups and minister to each other, praying for and blessing one another, giving testimonies of the things God is doing in our lives – we together become focussed on Jesus.

We turn our eyes to Jesus through the reading and hearing of the word.

That is what every sermon and every bible reading must accomplish: Making Jesus bigger and bigger in our life. And that my dear readers is my purpose for writing the different articles: encouraging to make Jesus the number One in your life.

We focus on Jesus when we praise and worship him.

Every time I praise and worship the Lord on my own or by listening to some good worship music His presence increases in me. Clouds and darkness disappear in the light of His glory and grace.

B) What happens when you turn your eyes upon Jesus?

Who wants to be more like Jesus? Tried it? Did it work? Work harder at it! Go to church more often! Give more money! Preach on the streets! No! No! No!

Just focus on Jesus and you will become more and more like him. You are being transferred into his image by the Spirit of God!

2 Corinthians 3:18 states:

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Many times we find it very hard to live a godly life. It seems like we never arrive. But the beauty of being a child of God is, that He doesn’t want us to struggle.

Here is the secret of being a really godly person: Turn your eyes upon Jesus! By doing so, the Apostle Peter tells us in 2 Peter 1:3:

“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvellous glory and excellence.”

Spend time with Jesus, focus on Him! By doing that, He Himself will change you from the inside out. That’s living life God’s way.

C) What do we see when we turn our eyes upon Jesus?

We see the author of our faith. Hebrews 12:3 “…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…”

“Author” here means: a leader, one, who makes the first step in a given situation and leads the way!

Many Christians have no sense of direction in their spiritual life. They know allot about Jesus, but they do not know him as the Leader, the one that leads the way. They are governed by their senses, by what they see and focus on. But they never learned to lean on him, to look into his face.

Are their decisions coming up in your life? Concentrate on Jesus. Get full of his word, have fellowship with Jesus, talk to him and worship him as the way the truth and the light – and he will direct your way of life.

Every new step that you take in your spiritual journey, Jesus is going to do the first step to lead you into the right direction. That is His promise.

And then we see him also as the finisher of our faith.

Without Him pouring out his mercies every day anew, you will not make it into his presence, into heaven.

He is keeping you so many times, when you are not even recognising it. In Jude it says, that he is keeping us from falling. So many times we would fall into sin – but he is keeping us from falling.

If you put your life’s focus truly on Jesus – he will carry you through everything you are facing in your life.

Trust Him as the finisher of your faith! He is able!!!

Many times we tend to make the things of God so very complicated. We are so hard on ourselves. We need to understand that the Lord knows that on our own we are doomed to fail. But if we stay connected with and to Him we bring forth much fruit. The Bibles calls that abiding on the vine.

So, my encouragement for you is this: Trust you Lord Jesus in every moment of your life. You are not the author and finisher of your faith – He is. And He is walking with you. He is also always one step ahead of you, so that you can follow Him.

Enjoy your journey through life with Jesus- Keeping your eyes, your focus on Him

Many believe the church at Ephesus (the church being the membership) was cleansed from sin by faith based on the teachings of their denomination and the famous Ephesian passage found in chapter 2 verses 8 and 9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.” (NAS)  Many, many passages of the New Testament teach that salvation is a matter of God’s grace (Acts 15:11, Rom. 3:24, Gal. 2:21, 5:4, Eph. 1:7, 2:5, 2 Thess. 2:16, 2 Tim. 1:9, Titus 2:11, Titus 3:7, 1 Peter 1:10, 1 Peter 1:13).  I have listed most of them here so the reader will know I am well aware of them.

I might also add here I am thankful it is that way.  If salvation was of works a man might well come up short (the Bible teaches he would – see Gal. 3:21).  He would need worry continually about what works (do I know all of them I am to do), have I done enough, did I do those I did well enough to pass the test.  Just about all of us have been involved in working endeavors in our life where we gave it our best, worked as hard as we could, and yet failed in the end.  Every time you watch a ballgame someone who has worked hard falls short and loses.  Many a man or woman has given their all on a job and then been let go.  Many a student has worked hard in preparing for a test and failed it.  How many more examples could be given?  So, yes, I think we are all glad salvation is a matter of God’s grace.

God’s grace is granted to us as a result of faith we possess.  “Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand.” (Rom. 5:1-2 NAS)  “For by grace you have been saved through faith.” (Eph. 2:8 NAS)  There are many other passages teaching we are saved by faith.  Here are quite a number of them:  John 3:14-16, John 8:24, John 11:25-26, John 20:31, Acts 16:31, Rom. 10:9, 1 Cor. 1:21, Gal. 3:22, 1 Tim. 1:16, Heb. 11:6, 1 John 5:13, Rom. 3:26, 28, 30, 5:1, 11:20, Gal. 2:16, 3:24, 26,  Eph. 2:8, Philippians 3:9, 1 Peter 1:9.  These were again listed that the reader might know I am fully aware of them.

The question that arises, however, is what is this faith that justifies?  I am not asking what the object of the faith is for we know that and agree upon it.  I am asking what is the nature of this faith.  Most are persuaded today (and have been since the Reformation) that it is merely a state of the mind regarding a belief one has in Jesus, who he is, and what he has accomplished for us.  It is mental assent to the teachings of the scriptures about him.  This is the faith that it is said saves.  I certainly agree with that as far as it goes but it stops short, too short.  The demons believed (make that knew) who Jesus was (Matt. 8:29, Mark 1:34, Luke 4:41).

One must not only believe what the scriptures teach about Jesus, who he was, what he accomplished for us, but faith also commits us to believe the man himself, believe what he said, and act on it.  If faith does not lead to action it is dead faith (James 2:17).  James says it is “useless.” (James 2:20 NAS)  Even in this world as regards worldly matters how can we say we have faith in a man when we will not take the man at his word?

The faith the Ephesians had that resulted in their cleansing from sin was the faith they had in what Jesus taught them.  Paul was an inspired man but the Holy Spirit whether speaking through Paul or through any other apostle or first century prophet did not speak on his own initiative.  “He will not speak on his own initiative, but whatever he hears, he will speak…he shall take of mine, and shall disclose it to you.” (John 16:13-14 NAS – the words of Jesus referring to the Holy Spirit)  Thus the Holy Spirit spoke the words of Jesus.  No one knows who first brought the gospel to Ephesus but we can be certain in view of the fact that Paul addresses those to whom he writes the book as “saints” that they were taught the truth and obeyed it.  Who was their teacher?  Jesus, “But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you heard him.” (Eph. 4:20-21 NAS)  Him, the teacher, was Christ.  

Paul said later in the book of Ephesians that Jesus cleansed the church, “by the washing of water with the word.” (Eph. 5:25 NAS)  Who was cleansed that way?  Those Paul said earlier had been saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8).  The washing of water with the word is clearly a reference to baptism.  What did Jesus teach about baptism?  “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved.” (Mark 16:16 NAS)  “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5 NAS)

John 3:5 and Eph. 5:25 teach basically the same thing.  The Spirit gave the word.  The Spirit working through the word works on our spirit if we will allow it changing our thinking, our attitudes, our desires, our will bringing us to the point where we are ready to put the old man that was us to death and be baptized to arise in “newness of life.” (Rom. 6:4 NAS)  To be cleansed by the washing of water with the word is the same as to be born of water and the Spirit.  Furthermore in scripture the church and the kingdom generally, not always but generally, are interchangeable terms.  Peter was given the keys of the kingdom.  When he used those keys by preaching the gospel on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 when people believed and obeyed they were added to the church – one and the same. 

Were the Ephesians saved by grace through faith “before” they were cleansed?  Let me quote that passage in its entirety.  “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her; that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.” (Eph. 5:25-26 NAS)  What was the church (the church being the members) cleansed of if not sin?  Can you be saved without first being cleansed of sin?  They were saved by grace through faith when cleansed by the washing of water with the word.  That washing was done by “the obedience of faith.” (Rom. 1:5 NAS)  Paul said he had received grace and apostleship, “to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles.” (Rom. 1:5 NAS)

Paul himself, obviously a church member, was told at his own conversion, “Why do you delay?  Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.” (Acts 22:16 NAS)  Paul had experienced the same washing and for the same reason as the church had at Ephesus.  No, water itself cannot wash away sins, that is not in and of itself, but it can if God has made the decision that that is the time and place where he will act in response to man’s faith.  Some have said it is a test of faith and I do not argue with them.

Naaman in the Old Testament “became furious” (2 Kings 5:11 NKJV) when told he needed to go wash in the Jordan 7 times to be healed of his leprosy.  He did not want to do it that way.  His faith had brought him thus far to Elisha and he felt that should be good enough.  Elisha should just come out and “stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.” (2 Kings 5:11 NKJV)  Obedience of faith had no place in his thinking.  One is reminded of today.

No, the water of the Jordan had no magic powers but faith in what God told Naaman through God’s prophet Elisha to do, a faith strong enough to get him to act simply because God said to do it, was the faith that made the difference.  Naaman is an excellent example of a man who experienced two types of faith.  The first failed him in obtaining his objective.  The second led him on his journey home a cleansed man.  So it is today in the spiritual realm with baptism.

There are two types of faith in what is commonly referred to as Christendom as it relates to our salvation.  The one says we will stop here (at the point of faith – mental assent) and do it this way, we have gone far enough, let God do the rest, while the other says God said to do it (be baptized) for this reason (the remission of sins – Acts 2:38), I believe him, and I will do what he says because I do believe.  Both have faith but clearly the faith is not the same.

One also has to ask the question if Paul did not consider baptism to be salvation by works why should we?  I do not know that I have ever heard a direct answer to that question?  Paul tells the Ephesians they have been saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8) and then tells them at the same time they have been cleansed by the washing of water through the word (Eph. 5:26).  He doesn’t miss a beat, doesn’t seem in the least to feel he has contradicted himself, so why should we feel that the two passages are contradictory and feel we have to try and explain it away, one way or another, that the washing of water is not baptism?

But there is much more in proof of the point I am making.  In Eph. 1:7 Paul says, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” (NAS)  In him is a reference, obviously, to Jesus who shed his blood for us.  How does one get into him, into Christ?  Gal. 3:27 says we were “baptized into Christ” and so does Rom. 6:3, “do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus.”  I know of no passage in the New Testament anywhere that tells one how to get into Christ other than through baptism. 

If you were to start through the book of Ephesians and start marking about every passage you come to that talks about different things that are found “in him,” “in Christ,” “in the Beloved,” here is some of what you would come up with:  (1) every spiritual blessing – Eph. 1:3, (2) grace – Eph. 1:6, (3) redemption – Eph. 1:7, (4) an inheritance – Eph. 1:10-11, (5) sealed with the Holy Spirit – Eph. 1:13, (6) seated us in heavenly places – Eph. 2:6, (7) kindness toward us – Eph. 2:7, (8) his workmanship  – Eph. 2:10, (9) brought near by the blood of Christ – Eph. 2:13, (10) partakers of the promise – Eph. 3:6.  But one must note that all of these blessings are in, not outside of but in, Christ.  “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Gal. 3:27 NAS)  How does one enter Christ?  By baptism.  If one is clothed with Christ (baptism again) are you in Christ?    

Paul says elsewhere in the book of Ephesians, “we are members of his body.” (Eph. 5:30 NAS)  But, then Paul tells us in 1 Cor. 12:13 how we get into that body, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” (NAS)  What is Christ the Savior of according to Paul in Ephesians?  “For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, he himself being the Savior of the body.” (Eph. 5: 23 NAS)  This is same body we are baptized into, that is if we are in it, for that is the only way the scriptures give of entering into it – not by baptism alone but by the obedience of faith that results in baptism.

Where is grace found?  “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Tim. 2:1 NAS)  Paul tells the Ephesians that this grace is “bestowed on us in the Beloved.” (Eph. 1:6 NAS)  Again, how does one get into Christ, the Beloved, according to the scriptures?  We have already answered that above.  When one is led by faith to believe Jesus and obey him in baptism for the remission of sins he enters into Christ, into the realm of grace by which he is saved.

In the book of Acts chapter 19 Paul comes to Ephesus and finds 12 men there who are disciples.  He asks them this question:  “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (Acts 19:2 NAS)  They respond no and that they had not even heard of the Holy Spirit.  Paul then says, “Into what then were you baptized?” (Acts 19:3 NAS)  Please note this one thing – Paul takes it for granted that if they were Christians they had been baptized.  He doesn’t ask them if they have been baptized.  Why not?  Paul doesn’t ask them because he knows what it takes to become a Christian and be saved.  “Why tarriest thou?  Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins.” (Acts 22:16 KJV, Ananias speaking to Saul, a believer, prior to Saul’s baptism)

One also ought to note the first thing Paul did with these 12 men after learning their situation was to have them “baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 19:5 NAS)  Yes, Paul taught baptism at Ephesus.  Paul stayed in Ephesus at least 2 years (see Acts 19:10) after this event so when Paul said later in Ephesians that the church was cleansed by the washing of water with the word there is no doubt he knew from personal experience all about baptism at Ephesus.  There is no such thing as an unbaptized Christian for Jesus commanded in the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19) that all disciples be baptized.  Paul either baptized them personally or saw to it that they were baptized by one or more of those who helped with the work.  Either that or he disobeyed Christ for which disciple was it that Christ said need not be baptized?

Faith is not just something to be believed but also obeyed.  One must obey the gospel to be saved (2 Thess. 1:7-8).  In a sense the gospel is the faith (Jude 3), it is that body of doctrine that is to be believed, but within that body of doctrine that constitutes the faith there are things that must be obeyed as well as believed.  In addition to mental assent to the truth about Jesus as revealed in the scripture one must repent of sins (Acts 17:30), one must confess with the mouth the Lord Jesus (Rom. 10:9-10), and one must be baptized into Christ, baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38, Gal. 3:27).  Faith, the faith that saves, is not a dead faith but active.  It is by faith that a man does these things, by faith because he heard the words of God and believed them enough to take them to heart and obey them.

Do not allow yourself to be misled.  A person who does not believe Jesus who said, “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16 NAS) but rather believes man who says, “He who has believed and has not been baptized shall be saved” is not a man of faith.  He may think he is but if so then one can clearly disregard the words of Jesus as being essential to faith.  I have asked this question before but never gotten an answer.  If Jesus wanted man to know that baptism was essential to the remission of sins how would he say it in a way to get man to understand it?  He could not say “repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38 KJV) for he already said that and men will not accept it.  How would he say it in order to make it plain and simple enough so all could understand it?  No one has yet answered that question.  The truth is Jesus has stated it as clearly as it can be stated by mere words alone.  Men will either accept it or reject it and thereby be judged.

Have you been cleansed with the washing of water by the word?  Will you be one with those saints in Ephesus Paul wrote to or are you going to be another kind of Christian unknown to the church at Ephesus and fearfully unknown to God in the last day?   

Many believe the church at Ephesus (the church being the membership) was cleansed from sin by faith based on the teachings of their denomination and the famous Ephesian passage found in chapter 2 verses 8 and 9,

Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

What an awesome Scripture! Assuredly means it

There are many people named Jesus out there claiming to be the Jesus of the scriptures.  But to know who the real Jesus is, we have to research the scriptures to find out as much as we can.  If you don’t believe the scriptures are the inerrant word of God then this article may not be of much help to you.  But if you do, you’ll find this little research exercise quite helpful.

From Genesis to Revelation, there is one central character that is emphasized, the Messiah – the Son of God – Jesus.  There are hundreds of scriptures that describe the character and nature of Jesus but in this article, we will only focus on just a few scriptures that really separate the real Jesus of scripture from the imposters.  We will use the New International Version which is a good modern day translation.

His Divine Nature
Was Jesus just a good teacher or was he who he said he was, the Son of the living God.  Well in order to be God’s only begotten Son; he would have to have the same nature as his father.  That nature is deity.  We all have the same nature as our fathers.  We are humans.  Jesus on the other hand did not have a human father.  His father is God, making him equal in nature to his father.  Mary was only the mother of the humanity of Jesus, because Jesus existed before Mary was even born.  Let’s look at that a little closer.

In the gospel of John, chapter 1 verses 1 and 2 we read “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God”.  Now who was this “Word”?  Well all we have to do is read further into the same chapter to verse 14.  “And the Word was made flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth”.  There is no doubt that these scriptures are speaking of Jesus Christ.  So from these scriptures we learn that Jesus was in the beginning with God and that he was God.

Creator of All Things
In that same chapter at verse 3 we read “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made”.  In Colossians 1: 15-17 we read “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together”.  The word “firstborn” here means “preeminent” or “coming before” as explained in verse 17.  In Genesis 1:26 it says “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground””.  Notice God said “Let us”.  Now who was in the beginning with God?  We have already learned it was Jesus.  The Holy Spirit was there also, but that’s another subject.

His Virgin Birth
Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:26-38 describe in great detail how the virgin Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit.  So Jesus doesn’t have a human father.  Joseph was his stepfather.  Joseph and Mary came together only after Jesus was born.  Matthew 12:46, Luke 8:19, Mark 3:31, Matthew 13:55, Matthew 13:56, John 7:1-10, Acts 1:14, and Galatians 1:19 all verify that after Jesus was born, he had brothers named James, Joseph, Simon, Judas and some sisters whose names and number are unknown.  The virgin birth makes Jesus truly the unique Son of the living God.

His Death and Resurrection
It’s a historical fact that Jesus was crucified.  It’s also a historical fact that the Romans were expects at crucifixion.  They knew how to torture a person to the limits.  They also knew when a crucified person was dead.  If after a certain time, the crucified person was not dead, they broke the legs of that person so that they could no longer hold themselves up. By pushing up with their legs, crucified victims kept most of their weight off of their arms thus making it easier to breath.  By having their legs broken, death was hastened  due to suffocation.

When they came to Jesus, the soldiers saw that he was already dead.  But just to make sure, one of the soldiers thrust a spear into the upper torso of Jesus.  Blood and water came out which was a sure sign that death had indeed occurred.  He was then buried in a rich man’s tomb and he rose from the dead after three days and three nights.  His resurrection took place without the stone being removed because they had to remove the stone to discover that the body of Jesus was not there.  Later on Jesus appeared to over 500 people; eye witnesses if you will.  He talked and ate with them.  He even let them handle him because some thought he was a ghost.  Then after comforting them, he ascended into heaven.  And we are told that just as he went up into heaven he will in the same manor return to earth to take his kingdom.  Matthew 27-28, Mark 15-16, Luke 23-24 and John 19-21 go into great detail about the crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection of the real Jesus of scripture.

The Savior
Since God is the Father of Jesus, that makes Jesus co equal with the father and makes him a sinless man, without spot or wrinkle.  That makes him the perfect Lamb of God to take upon himself the sin of the world.  If he were just human, he would have a sin nature like ours and could not pay the price for our sins or his own sins.  But since God is his father, that makes him sinless, fully God and fully man.  Colossians 2:9 says “For in Christ all the fullness of Deity lives in bodily form”.  Jesus is God’s gift to the world.  Because God is just, he has to punish sins and because He loves us so much, he laid that punishment on His Only Begotten, One and Only unique Son so that we could escape that wrath.  Even though this salvation is a free gift to us, God paid a terrible price.  All we have to do is believe that Jesus paid the price for our sins and that God raised Him from the dead, defeating death, so that we also may rise to everlasting life to be with him forever.  If you believe and receive him as your savior, he will then give you the power to turn away from your sins.

This has only been a brief examination into the uniqueness of the real Jesus.  There are many exhaustive studies out there.  If you need more help, ask God to help you and do more research.  God says “Seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened”.

Go to our blog Jesus and Faith to learn more about the real Jesus of scripture and see the experiences of people who have put their faith in the Son of the living God. http://jesusandfaith.com

There are many people named Jesus out there claiming to be the Jesus of the scriptures. But to know who the real Jesus is, we have to research the scriptures to find out as much as we can. If you don’t believe the scriptures are the inerrant word of God then this article may not be of much help to you. But if you do, you’ll find this little research exercise quite helpful.

From Genesis to Revelation, there is one central character that is emphasized, the Messiah – the Son of God – Jesus. There are hundreds of scriptures that describe the character and nature of Jesus but in this article, we will only focus on just a few scriptures that really separate the real Jesus of scripture from the imposters. We will use the New International Version which is a good modern day translation.

His Divine Nature

Was Jesus just a good teacher or was he who he said he was, the Son of the living God. Well in order to be God’s only begotten Son; he would have to have the same nature as his father. That nature is deity. We all have the same nature as our fathers. We are humans. Jesus on the other hand did not have a human father. His father is God, making him equal in nature to his father. Mary was only the mother of the humanity of Jesus, because Jesus existed before Mary was even born. Let’s look at that a little closer.

In the gospel of John, chapter 1 verses 1 and 2 we read “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God”. Now who was this “Word”? Well all we have to do is read further into the same chapter to verse 14. “And the Word was made flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth”. There is no doubt that these scriptures are speaking of Jesus Christ. So from these scriptures we learn that Jesus was in the beginning with God and that he was God.

Creator of All Things

In that same chapter at verse 3 we read “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made”. In Colossians 1: 15-17 we read “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together”. The word “firstborn” here means “preeminent” or “coming before” as explained in verse 17. In Genesis 1:26 it says “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground”". Notice God said “Let us”. Now who was in the beginning with God? We have already learned it was Jesus. The Holy Spirit was there also, but that’s another subject.

His Virgin Birth

Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:26-38 describe in great detail how the virgin Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit. So Jesus doesn’t have a human father. Joseph was his stepfather. Joseph and Mary came together only after Jesus was born. Matthew 12:46, Luke 8:19, Mark 3:31, Matthew 13:55, Matthew 13:56, John 7:1-10, Acts 1:14, and Galatians 1:19 all verify that after Jesus was born, he had brothers named James, Joseph, Simon, Judas and some sisters whose names and number are unknown. The virgin birth makes Jesus truly the unique Son of the living God.

His Death and Resurrection

It’s a historical fact that Jesus was crucified. It’s also a historical fact that the Romans were expects at crucifixion. They knew how to torture a person to the limits. They also knew when a crucified person was dead. If after a certain time, the crucified person was not dead, they broke the legs of that person so that they could no longer hold themselves up. By pushing up with their legs, crucified victims kept most of their weight off of their arms thus making it easier to breath. By having their legs broken, death was hastened due to suffocation.

When they came to Jesus, the soldiers saw that he was already dead. But just to make sure, one of the soldiers thrust a spear into the upper torso of Jesus. Blood and water came out which was a sure sign that death had indeed occurred. He was then buried in a rich man’s tomb and he rose from the dead after three days and three nights. His resurrection took place without the stone being removed because they had to remove the stone to discover that the body of Jesus was not there. Later on Jesus appeared to over 500 people; eye witnesses if you will. He talked and ate with them. He even let them handle him because some thought he was a ghost. Then after comforting them, he ascended into heaven. And we are told that just as he went up into heaven he will in the same manor return to earth to take his kingdom. Matthew 27-28, Mark 15-16, Luke 23-24 and John 19-21 go into great detail about the crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection of the real Jesus of scripture.

The Savior

Since God is the Father of Jesus, that makes Jesus co equal with the father and makes him a sinless man, without spot or wrinkle. That makes him the perfect Lamb of God to take upon himself the sin of the world. If he were just human, he would have a sin nature like ours and could not pay the price for our sins or his own sins. But since God is his father, that makes him sinless, fully God and fully man. Colossians 2:9 says “For in Christ all the fullness of Deity lives in bodily form”. Jesus is God’s gift to the world. Because God is just, he has to punish sins and because He loves us so much, he laid that punishment on His Only Begotten, One and Only unique Son so that we could escape that wrath. Even though this salvation is a free gift to us, God paid a terrible price. All we have to do is believe that Jesus paid the price for our sins and that God raised Him from the dead, defeating death, so that we also may rise to everlasting life to be with him forever. If you believe and receive him as your savior, he will then give you the power to turn away from your sins.

This has only been a brief examination into the uniqueness of the real Jesus. There are many exhaustive studies out there. If you need more help, ask God to help you and do more research. God says “Seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened”.

Go to our blog Jesus and Faith to learn more about the real Jesus of scripture and see the experiences of people who have put their faith in the Son of the living God. http://jesusandfaith.com

Courage. What

The Ascension of Jesus Christ is one of the lesser known events in the New Testament and yet it is one of the most important alongside the birth, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus. Why is this? Is there any reasonable explanation and anyway what exactly did happen?

Forty days after Jesus Christ was raised from the dead He returned to His Father.

Jesus came from God the Father and now that His work on earth was completely completed, He was returning to His Father, having been away some 33 years.

God the Father had accepted the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb. Jesus willingly laid down His perfect life and shed His blood to wash away man’s sin.

There is no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood.

Jesus led His disciples to the Mount of Olives from where He ascended.

As the disciples watched intently, a cloud enveloped and received the ascending Christ. Angels appeared explaining what was happening, and speaking of how He would return in a similar manner.

The ascension of Jesus can remain a mystery to many. It is not so well known as other events in the life of Jesus. To some it remains a problem. It need not be.

There is rejoicing at His birth, but understanding the significance of His departure is even more challenging, but need not be.

He was alive before He was born, and He continues to live after His death. Jesus is unique in various ways!

He left His chosen men with a unique promise. Ten days later that promise was kept and fulfilled, and remains available to all today who wish to avail themselves of God’s anointing power.

It happened, and it continues to happen.

A medical doctor records the ascension of Jesus Christ twice, and reports of how Jesus will return to the Mount of Olives. This is the next great event on God’s calendar.

We do not know exactly when it will happen, but there is one thing we can be sure of, it will.

Sandy Shaw

Sandy Shaw is Pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship, Chaplain at Inverness Prison, and Nairn Academy, and serves on The Children’s Panel in Scotland, and has travelled extensively over these past years teaching, speaking, in America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, making 12 visits to Israel conducting Tours and Pilgrimages, and most recently in Uganda and Kenya, ministering at Pastors and Leaders Seminars, in the poor areas surrounding Kampala, Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu.

He broadcasts regularly on WSHO radio out of New Orleans, http://www.wsho.com and writes a weekly commentary at http://www.studylight.org entitled “Word from Scotland” on various biblical themes, as well as a weekly newspaper column.

His M.A. and B.D. degrees are from The University of Edinburgh, and he continues to run and exercise regularly to maintain a level of physical fitness.

Sandy Shaw
Contact me through Twitter

God is looking to us to figure out if the Cross of Christ is embellished on our hearts and lives. The early Christians stuck to the image of the Cross as it helped them remember Jesus.

They didn’t see Him as still hanging on the cross, but viewed it as a depiction of God’s everlasting love and forgiveness. ‘So I may hold dear the old craggy cross, till my prizes at last I lay down; I will be in a position to adhere to the old craggy cross, and exchange it some day for a crown.’…

The Cross wasn’t the end or the final word on the state of humankind.

it definitely was an obligatory step that wanted to be taken by Jesus before God’s deliverance could be completely realized by all who would come to love and worship Him. When we take up the Cross of Christ, we crucify all that we are apart from Jesus. This is our glory, and the empty cross represents our crucified life.

How well do I know God? Absence of understanding about God’s personality and what pleases Him obstructs listening.

Do I think that God wants to chat to me? A poor self-image is one reason we have lifeless hearing. Do I live with a feeling of guilt? When we suspect demon’s lies about not measuring up to God’s standard, we experience fake guilt, and our listening talents reduce.

Have I been too busy to take time for God? The Lord expects us to hear Him and reply, even in our busyness. Do I believe God speaks through His Holy Spirit? When we have unbelief about God talking to us personally, we cannot hear His voice.

Am I indignant with God? Over time, God-directed fury can close our heart to His words. Have I decided on how I need God to answer? When we’ve got a rebellious spirit, we close our ears to any solution but our own. How well do I receive feedback and correction? Our inclination is to reject the messenger without determining if she or he was sent by God. ( Luke 8:18a ) now would be a superb time to obey.

Are you able to imagine fighting a gale for two weeks and getting almost no nourishment? That’s what the men on Paul’s ship experienced. Even more dazzling, that is how the majority of the people reply to life’s hurricanes. We run our tanks dry fighting the battles on our own, and we finish up physically weak, emotionally exhausted, and unable to sleep.

The anchor of renewal guards against that sort of anatomical depletion. Instead, Paul provoked the men to eat and be replenished. Are you able to imagine that scene? The tempest raged about them, while almost 300 men bowed in prayer as Paul gave thanks for the meager fare, then everybody on board joined together in the meal. Your private nourishment is vital in periods of storm. In panic moments, you can cut a corner on your meals. It will not be long before you can set aside prayer altogether and you will find yourself drained, spiritually.

Increased emotional pain mixed with decreased religious renewal can be deadly to your religion. Few disciplines are of larger importance when all appears bleak. That’s what Paul modeled on the deck of that rugged ship. For some of the men on board, I am confident it was essentially the 1st time in their lives they’d prayed. Certainly, it was actually the initial time they’d prayed to Almighty God.

About Christian Faith Today:

From Christian Faith Today: it may have been the single time in their lives they’d ever heard a prayer offered for a meal. In the middle of a screaming wind-and-rain tempest, they paused and witnessed a reverent, humble man offering a prayer of gratitude to the Lord God, Maker of heaven and earth, Captain of the winds and waves. It was easy, but its impact was profound. Paul had shown them the anchor of renewal a glance of hope.

Speaking from my own experience, I know that I use to strongly and adamantly believe that race and gender should not impact one’s interpretation.  Rather when I was young and still grounded in the theological tradition I was raised in, I understood very well the dangers of allowing people to read into the texts from their own context, experience, and social status.  The thought process went something like this.  The moment you allow Jesus to be interpreted through the personal lens of race and gender, you allow who he is to be up for grabs.  You lose track of the historical, biblical, and furthermore real Jesus, and trade him in for thousands of Jesus’ that suit our own interpretations and agendas.  No, instead the answer was easy; we needed to not read the Bible subjectively but objectively.  All we had to do was read the text based off of what it said, not allowing our own experiences and culture to jump. Then Jesus would stay intact, being protected from the misuse and abuse that would come if there was a “to each its own” approach to Jesus.

While I can relate to some of the fears that I once held, I no longer believe nor affirm that race and gender should not play into our interpretation.  In fact, I now do believe that race and gender does and at times must be allowed to interface with the text.  The dialogue between one’s race and gender I believe is both extremely helpful at times (although not always) as well as inevitable.

I will explain the latter first.  I believe that one’s race and gender is inevitable purely because of a biblical truth that has clearly manifested itself in our reality.  This is the reality that we as human beings are finite.  While this point may seem obvious for us as Christians to admit, because we teach it in some form when we talk about the legendary “fall of humanity” that took place in the Garden of Eden, it at times is foreign in regards to our practical application of it for many of our circles.  However, while we are great at teaching a propositional truth (our finite and fallen humanity), we do not always spend equal time pondering the implications of such realities.  I believe that we are comprehensively finite.  We do good, but we do not do infinite good like God does.  We love, but we do not have infinite agape love.  We even know, but our knowledge is never going to equate the infinite knowledge that God holds.  Our finite minds and bodies are not able to operate in infinite ways.  What does it mean then to say that our understanding and knowledge is finite?  It is to affirm that we are mere humans, and so our perspective and scope are limited by our place, context, experience, race, gender, and socioeconomic status.  It also means that even when we have grasped “a truth” or reality, we understand it finitely, and not as God does.  This does not mean that everything we believe is wrong, but it does mean that it is all limited.

If this is the case, then we can no longer hold to the old understanding that we are able to read the bible “objectively”.  Again, this does not mean that we do not have the capacity to read the bible at all, but rather that when we do read it and attain the truth of God, we do so in a finite and limited fashion, otherwise we would be gods ourselves.  The importance of us reading the Bible in humility then becomes extraordinarily important.  Furthermore, if my experience, culture, race, and gender limit my reading and understanding of who Jesus is, then I also will value communal readings that incorporate diverse people that will help pick up and catch what I miss.

It seems that since Constantine, in as much as I understand Western Church History, there has been an inclination and propensity for the powerful and dominant culture of society to control and dispense biblical truth. Furthermore, with the over emphasis on the reformation’s doctrine, we have in many church circles “universalized” a brand of theology and called it “classical theology”.  In this finite theology (as is all theology), we have put forth the one way to understand who Jesus is, and what the implications of his life and death were.  Others around the world and within the U.S. have had other understandings of who Jesus was.  And so it was branded accordingly as Black theology, Latin theology, African theology, Feminist theology, etc.  However, when white men continued to uphold the theology done by their ancestors, or when they added upon this historic work, it was clearly understood as universal theology for everyone.  Based on this we can see the fallacy of the assumption made.  When white men explain who Jesus is, they are neutral, unbiased and objective, but when anyone else does it, they break outside the box of a good universal understanding and will be branded as such.

The reality is, that anyone who is a part of the most dominant group of any society is just as much if not more subjective in their understanding of who Jesus is and his implications.  Now, some might wonder why I made that “unfair” jump to label those in the dominant group as “just as much if not more subjective” when I should have said equally subjective.  Well I stand by my statement for these reasons. One, any minority can tell you that for survival sake, they must not only know their own thoughts and perspectives on politics, faith, music, pop culture, etc but must also be fully aware of what those in the majority are thinking as well. For if they were to not know, it very well could cost them a job, an opportunity, or a fair shot at thriving in a world controlled by those who see you as an outsider.  People in the majority have the luxury of not having to know what subdominant groups are thinking.  Their lively hood does not hang on the balance if they don’t know minority’s heroes, favorite songs, political perspectives, etc.  This is a privilege of being in the majority. However, along with this advantage also comes the disadvantage of not having as wide of a perspective as the underrepresented do.  Therefore, if the dominant groups of society do not intentionally take the time to learn Jesus from the minority groups, they will have a more finite and subjective understanding of who Jesus is, as well as Christ’s implications for our world as well.

Lastly, as I understand Jesus and his story (from my own culture and experience as a black male), I see him being most relevant for the oppressed, the marginalized, the poor, the outcasts, and the lost. Jesus was an oppressed person for oppressed peoples.  In my experience, the more someone fit one of the descriptions for whom I claim Jesus was most relevant to, the more they saw and understood Jesus as expressed in the gospels.  However, the more someone did not fit that criteria, the more they seemed to need help to see Jesus in this light.  As I mentioned in the beginning I still hold to the fear that without objectivity, there is the possibility for a “to each their own” approach with Jesus.  And I do strongly affirm that not every reading is as good as the next, and some are just flat out wrong.  Therefore I believe that we indeed should allow our race and gender to inform our understanding of Jesus, however it should always lean in favor of “the least of these” rather than the dominant or powerful.  Our very readings should slant towards the marginalized, but along with that if our interpretations differ, I am going to go out on a limb (without any strong backing and only conviction) and say that we should usually prefer interpretations of Jesus by oppressed communities over and above privileged communities, so long as they are staying within the confines of the historic church boundaries and that of scripture.

For me, the implications here are obvious when thinking about how to incorporate such ideas into ministry.  For starters, it is essential for us to find a place and opportunity for people from diverse backgrounds to gather while studying who Jesus is and what he means for them individually as well as corporately.  This in itself seems simple but is not easily attained.  It can at times be easy to get people together when the journey is limited, and nothing is really lost or gained because no one is vulnerable.  However, to work and labor in having a community that despite all odds is going to stick it through, even when it hurts, is what is truly needed.  In my first paragraph of this essay, I suggested in one of my questions that people have something to lose based on how we address these questions.  I guess I envision a group of people that will not merely come around and join hands singing “Kumbaya My Lord”, but that real reconciliation and justice would be pursued at the communal and social level rather than merely individual.  I believe that when we all have a say on who Jesus is, informed by our experience (including both race and gender, among other categories as well), then it will transform our churches, families, communities, and ultimately our world.

The pursuit of reconciliation and justice together ultimately means equality.  For those that have “too much” there will be loss, and for those that have “too little” there will be gain.  The goal is equality. I believe that we won’t be able to live nor do ministry the same ever again.  However lofty and unrealistic it sounds even to me, these are the real and practical implications.  Our collective pursuit of following after our Risen Lord must be done in humility, in love, in truth, in patience, in grace, in peace, and as well, in Christ.

Drew Hart is a pastor and dwells in the city of Philadelphia. He writes for freestyletheology.wordpress.com and enjoys engaging both faith and culture deeply and critically. As a student from Biblical Seminary with a Urban focus, he believes that we are called to join and participate God in His mission of reconciliation of the alienated and liberation of the oppressed.